A visitor

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Originally uploaded by sticksinthemud

My mom is coming to visit. She hasn't seen little guy in a couple of months. She hasn't seen him crawl and now he is walking! A pretty big change if you ask me.

Hopefully we will get to see some pretty fall colors. and get out and about with her.

Comfort Food

There is nothing more comforting than tater tot casserole. Need a warm belly? Make this.

TATER TOT CASSEROLE

Serves 6

Ingredients:

A bag of Ore-Ida Crispy Crowns/Tots 1 can of cream of something soup 1 pound of ground beef Lawry's or some seasoning salt

1 soup can of liquid (sometimes I use water sometimes milk) 1 can of corn or 1/2 bag of frozen corn 2 cups shredded cheese Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1.	Prepare the crispy crowns or tater tots by following the instructions on the bag. I usually sprinkle them with a bit of seasoning before I bake them. You could also use the Alexia Sweet Potato Puffs in this recipe if you are not a fan of Ore-Ida, I'd just use 2 bags because I think they are smaller. Once the crowns/tots/puffs are cooked, set them aside and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees.
2.	In a large skillet, over medium heat lightly brown the meat and corn, 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
3.	In a 13"X9" pan, place 1/2 of the crispy crowns in the pan. Then add the meat and corn, spreading as even as possible. Then sprinkle with a cup of the shredded cheese. Then put the rest of the crispy crowns on top.
4.	Mix the can of soup and liquid of your choice. Pour over the layers in the pan. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and place it in the oven
5.	Bake for 15-20 minutes until bubbles appear at the sides from the liquid and the cheese on top is browning. Serve.

This is good with ketchup but I like it plain too. I like this for left overs the next day. In this recipe I have used ground turkey, ground up morning star meal starters, and different frozen vegetable mixes. My childhood memory is with beef and corn but I suggest you experiment and see what you like!

The start of fall

We finally made it up a canyon, Millcreek. The leaves are changing color! YAY!

Happy eater

 He is definitely a Plum baby food fan!

Warm you up inside...

I have had the good fortune of being able to bake a lot lately (thanks Ken and Paula). Alan's Grandmother Roma is turning 90 on Sunday so I get to make cakes, lots of cakes! Pictures after the party. ;)

With the temperature taking a slight dip (slight), I thought I'd finally post a good soup recipe. The soup is a really easy one, tastes good too. I always think it warms up my insides and seems comforting. Crusty bread is a nice companion to this soup.


KALE AND SAUSAGE SOUP

Serves 4 as a meal, 6 as a starter

Ingredients:

A couple bunches of kale, cleaned, torn into bits 10-12 small red potatoes, sliced thin 1 pound of Italian Sausage 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

8 cups of liquid (usually 4 cups chicken broth and some milk, cream, and/or half-and-half to make up the rest) Tablespoon (or two) fresh or dried oregano Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1.	In your soup pot, boil the sliced potatoes until just fork tender. Drain and set aside.
2.	In the same pot, cook the sausage. I haven't had much fat in my pan but if you do have fat, soak it up with a paper towel or drain it off.
3.	Add the red pepper flakes, oregano and the liquid. Simmer all this for about 20 minutes. Adjust the salt and pepper as needed.
4.	Add the sliced potatoes and kale. Simmer an additional 10-15 minutes, then serve.

11 months and counting

Tiny guy turned 11 months old a couple days ago. He is almost a year! Wow. He was a bit sick but the doctors are working with us on getting him better. We have another scan this week. We love our pediatrician, she has really been great through all of this. Recovery is slow but sure.

He is definitely a walker. He will hardly crawl any more. He is getting really good at walking around with two toys, usually a floss container and Wii remote (with the floss parts removed and no batteries in the remote).

He loves to play peek-a-boo and squish Ro cat. He even tried to catch her tongue when she was sticking it out (we got it on video). He had an orange balloon that lasted for weeks that he enjoyed walking around the house.

He has been swimming at the pirate pool in Bountiful and loves the water. He likes all kinds of food (except bananas) and even tried a corn dog! He now has 5 teeth. He loves cheese and his maple poofs. He even eats peas (thanks Shirley!).

He has been working on words and he now clearly says 'hi,' 'bye,' and 'yeah.' Sometimes he even adds in a wave to emphasize the hi and bye. He also loves music. He will dance when he hears something he likes. He still likes to tickle the ivories too when he is at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

We had the chance to hang with Scotty recently and the boys managed a couple games of badminton. Tiny loves the racquet! We try to take him to the zoo once a week to see the animals. He loves to ride the carousel and the train. We are sad to see the train go since we just got the membership!

Also, our little cuddler now has a cool tricycle courtesy of a nice woman at a garage sale. Score!